I've hit President's Club. I've also been laid off.
READ TIME: 4 MINUTES
I've been on President's Club trips to Barcelona, Costa Rica, and Cancun.
I was on the NASDAQ floor the day PowerSchool rang the bell.
I've watched hundreds of reps and managers earn their promotions and played some small part in getting them there.
I've also been laid off.
I've missed quota. More than once.
Same person. Same career.
On LinkedIn, the highlights are easy to share. Those moments are real, and I'm proud of every one of them.
But they're only half the story.
Today I want to tell you the other half.
Not for sympathy. Not for drama.
Because I've watched too many talented sales professionals spiral when they hit a low. Convinced they're the only one, certain it means something permanent about their ability or their worth.
It doesn't.
I know that because I've lived through several lows myself. And had to fight the spiral every time.
Low #1: Starting My First AE Role on the Verge of a PIP
Getting promoted from SDR to AE felt like everything I'd worked for.
Then reality hit.
The transition from SDR to AE is harder than most people tell you. You go from a defined, activity-based role to owning the entire sales cycle — discovery, demo, negotiation, close.
The skills don't automatically transfer.
I wasn't hitting my numbers. My manager, Stroker, was great. He role-played with me, joined my calls, gave me every tool he had. But my lack of confidence in myself and the product was working against me.
I knew how far I was from my number. The hole kept getting bigger.
The conversations got harder. And I became my own harshest critic.
I was close to a PIP.
I started questioning whether sales was even right for me.
Eventually, I made a decision: instead of grinding it out in a role I didn't believe in, I pivoted. New company. Tangible product. Fresh start.
That's when I broke into SaaS.
I took everything Stroker had taught me — skills I still teach today — and applied them to a product I actually believed in. My first year at Vocus, I finished in the top 10. One slot outside of President's Club.
It stung to fall short. But I was proud of the comeback.
What I learned: Struggling early doesn't mean you made the wrong move. Sometimes you need a fresh start — a product you understand, a role where you can believe in what you're selling. The pivot wasn't giving up. It was getting strategic.
Low #2: Being Laid Off
In 2023, I was laid off for the first time.
I saw it coming. Our team wasn't hitting revenue targets, and I had actually recommended cuts to help the business refocus on product-market fit.
Knowing it was coming didn't make it hurt less.
The questions spiral fast when it happens.
Am I actually good at this? Am I a strong leader? Should I change careers entirely? How are we going to pay our bills?
I felt like a failure. Like I had let my team down.
The job market was brutal. It took six months to land the next role. My confidence took a real hit along the way.
But here's what I know now, looking back:
Career setbacks are often the turning points that lead you exactly where you're supposed to go.
Four things helped me rebuild:
Re-evaluating my values and getting honest about what I actually wanted next
Working with a coach who challenged my thinking and gave me perspective I couldn't find on my own
Investing in my own professional development
Setting small, winnable goals, and building momentum one step at a time
The last one mattered more than I expected. When your confidence is shaken, you don't rebuild it with one big win. You rebuild it with a series of small ones.
The Pattern Across All of It
Every real low in my career has taught me the same things. Today I highlighted just two but there have been plenty of others.
The emotion is real — and it deserves space. Don't skip it. Suppressing it doesn't make it disappear. It just makes it harder to think clearly when you need to most.
Clarity comes next. Not immediately. The worst career decisions I've seen and made happen in the fog of a low. Give yourself 48–72 hours before you act on anything.
The low contains information. I learned more from struggling through my first AE role than I did from any quarter I exceeded quota. The hard chapters are expensive lessons. Make sure you get what you paid for.
What you do next is the story. Not the low itself. Nobody remembers that you had a bad quarter. They remember how you came back from it.
The highs far outweigh the lows.
If you're in a low right now, I want you to hear this:
It's a chapter. Not the whole book.
Find the learning, set up those small wins and build your way back to the high.
Hit reply and tell me: if you're in a low, where do you need help? I read every response.
To clarity and confidence in your career path,
Amanda
See you next Sunday.
